Continuous Utinary Blockage

[thecatlady24]

My cat Neko, who is 4 years old, I noticed was straining to pee a month ago so I took him to the vet. They said he had a UTI and his urine was dark. He was fine after that. A couple weeks after, I got home from vacation and noticed he was straining to pee. After a trip to the vet, he had a catherer inserted for a couple days and hospitalized for one day and given fluids to flush anything out.

After being tested, there wasn't crystals or stones blocking him. Which is a pain because I still don't know the cause except the fact that male cats usually get this.

Last Saturday, he had the catherer taken out and the next days I noticed he was still straining to pee with little to no urine coming out, had low energy and was hiding in various spots of the house. Took him to the vet again and they said he was blocked and will need a catherer in again.

Has this happened to anyone? Continuous blockage. I just want my baby to get better

 

[maggiedemi]

Is he eating a lot of dry food?

 

[thecatlady24]

Is he eating a lot of dry food?

He only eats wet food

 

[maggiedemi]

Wet food usually helps my cat with his urinary problems. Did the vet give him an antibiotic? My cat had to be on antibiotics for 10 days when he got a UTI. What kind of litter are you using? Are you changing it often enough? Sorry if that sounds like a rude question, just trying to think of ideas to help.

 

[thecatlady24]

Wet food usually helps my cat with his urinary problems. Did the vet give him an antibiotic? My cat had to be on antibiotics for 10 days when he got a UTI. What kind of litter are you using? Are you changing it often enough? Sorry if that sounds like a rude question, just trying to think of ideas to help.

Yes he was given antibiotic and still taking it. For cat litter, I'm using fresh step and clean it every 2 days or so.. Also have 1 other cat and right now for the week a total of 4 cats because my sister is visiting. :/ It's okay thanks for replying

 

[tathea]

I completely understand your frustration. Lyra has been getting UTI's about once a year. Fortunately she has never had an obstruction (less common for females is my understanding) She is one her second round of antibiotics for the most recent infection. The vet wants her on a prescription diet, I am leery about it so started doing some research. I have found it recommended to add water even to wet food. It does seem odd that he has no crystals in his urine, as it seems they usually come with a uti or blockage. Maybe a second urinalysis would be good? If they have struvite crystals dl-methionine can help make the urine more acidic and dissolve the crystals. I've read putting them on a raw diet can be best ( i just discovered there is a freeze dried raw food, just add water, and frozen raw all ready to go just thaw), avoid dry food and look for high protien, low to no carbs and low potassium. I'm just on day two of my internet research, but already switching to a raw frozen diet (she HATES the prescription food)

 

[lavishsqualor]

I'm so sorry you and your Neko are going through this. It's honestly one of my worst nightmares, especially since you're feeding only wet food. Neko is incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful custodian.

 

[thecatlady24]

I completely understand your frustration. Lyra has been getting UTI's about once a year. Fortunately she has never had an obstruction (less common for females is my understanding) She is one her second round of antibiotics for the most recent infection. The vet wants her on a prescription diet, I am leery about it so started doing some research. I have found it recommended to add water even to wet food. It does seem odd that he has no crystals in his urine, as it seems they usually come with a uti or blockage. Maybe a second urinalysis would be good? If they have struvite crystals dl-methionine can help make the urine more acidic and dissolve the crystals. I've read putting them on a raw diet can be best ( i just discovered there is a freeze dried raw food, just add water, and frozen raw all ready to go just thaw), avoid dry food and look for high protien, low to no carbs and low potassium. I'm just on day two of my internet research, but already switching to a raw frozen diet (she HATES the prescription food)

Thank you for replying! Yea it boggles my mind and I can't understand why he is blocked without crystals. They said it could be anything, and that male cats has a different shaped urinary tract. Luckily Neko loves food so he ate the prescription food without hesitation. Is it pricey to switch to the raw frozen diet?

 

[thecatlady24]

I'm so sorry you and your Neko are going through this. It's honestly one of my worst nightmares, especially since you're feeding only wet food. Neko is incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful custodian.

Thank you for your comment! It means a lot <3

 

[maggiedemi]

It sounds like you are doing everything right with the wet food and antibiotics. I can't think of anything else... Is he eating a lot of fish flavors? I try to avoid those.

 

[thecatlady24]

It sounds like you are doing everything right with the wet food and antibiotics. I can't think of anything else... Is he eating a lot of fish flavors? I try to avoid those.

ah I buy the mixed package and there are some fish flavored wet food. :/ I'll definitely remember not to give him those flavors!

 

[mokapi]

My older cat has been predisposed to UTIs & blockages for his entire life (he's 8 years old now); most recently he was ill back in March. The holistic vet we see recommended a product to me that I purchased on Amazon, and we haven't had an issue since:

Vet Classics Cranberry Comfort

There's some debate on whether or not cranberry can actually inflame the urethra/bladder due to its acidity, but I have had excellent luck with it over the last few months. This is the longest Mrowmrow's gone without any sort of bladder trouble

 

[thecatlady24]

Oh thank you so much for the recommendation! I will check with my vet to see if he can take this. Right now they said if he is continue to be blocked, they recommend surgery :/

 

[mokapi]

I'm not surprised; blockages can be fatal if left unresolved. Keep a close eye on him for signs of a fever.

Adding water to wet food can definitely help, as well as a low-sodium chicken broth. I actually bought my cat a fountain that bubbles in addition to the water bowls he already had, and he definitely prefers it.

As to your question re: the cost of frozen raw food, I think that depends on the brand of food you look at, the store you purchase it from, and the protein source. In my experience, online stores charge a little extra for the "convenience". Different brands-- Nature's Variety, Stella & Chewy, Bravo, Primal, etc.- will all cost different, and all have different formulas (i.e., some have fruit and vegetables added, while some are truly just meat). Chicken and turkey are usually cheapest, while "novel" proteins, like venison or bison, will cost more.

I *just* made the switch to raw, and if I could afford it, I would just buy RadCat frozen raw and be on my merry way. Unfortunately, I can't, so I'm in the middle of struggling with formulas and ratios right now, LOL. I can say from experience with dogs that a raw diet is genuinely the way to go, and I'm almost certain that it will improve UTI issues.

What brand of wet food is he eating right now?

 

[thecatlady24]

I'm not surprised; blockages can be fatal if left unresolved. Keep a close eye on him for signs of a fever.

Adding water to wet food can definitely help, as well as a low-sodium chicken broth. I actually bought my cat a fountain that bubbles in addition to the water bowls he already had, and he definitely prefers it.

As to your question re: the cost of frozen raw food, I think that depends on the brand of food you look at, the store you purchase it from, and the protein source. In my experience, online stores charge a little extra for the "convenience". Different brands-- Nature's Variety, Stella & Chewy, Bravo, Primal, etc.- will all cost different, and all have different formulas (i.e., some have fruit and vegetables added, while some are truly just meat). Chicken and turkey are usually cheapest, while "novel" proteins, like venison or bison, will cost more.

I *just* made the switch to raw, and if I could afford it, I would just buy RadCat frozen raw and be on my merry way. Unfortunately, I can't, so I'm in the middle of struggling with formulas and ratios right now, LOL. I can say from experience with dogs that a raw diet is genuinely the way to go, and I'm almost certain that it will improve UTI issues.

What brand of wet food is he eating right now?

Thanks for the tip, I will add in low sodium chicken broth to his diet. I will definitely look into the raw food diet. Should I start him with the prescription food recommended by the vet?

His whole life he has been eating friskies wet food meaty bits with different variations of proteins. Sometimes, he might have dry food here and there but I have stopped all dry food for his diet. The vet placed him on the prescription wet food Hill's prescription wet food.

 

[thecatlady24]

My older cat has been predisposed to UTIs & blockages for his entire life (he's 8 years old now); most recently he was ill back in March. The holistic vet we see recommended a product to me that I purchased on Amazon, and we haven't had an issue since:

Vet Classics Cranberry Comfort

There's some debate on whether or not cranberry can actually inflame the urethra/bladder due to its acidity, but I have had excellent luck with it over the last few months. This is the longest Mrowmrow's gone without any sort of bladder trouble

Oh thank you so much for the recommendation! I will check with my vet to see if he can take this. Right now they said if he is continue to be blocked, they recommend surgery :/

 

[mokapi]

Thanks for the tip, I will add in low sodium chicken broth to his diet. I will definitely look into the raw food diet. Should I start him with the prescription food recommended by the vet?

His whole life he has been eating friskies wet food meaty bits with different variations of proteins. Sometimes, he might have dry food here and there but I have stopped all dry food for his diet. The vet placed him on the prescription wet food Hill's prescription wet food.

I'm very new to the forum, and am not sure of the "boundaries" of medical advice...I would likely feed the prescription food for a few weeks, and then I'd make my switch. The key to preventing UTIs and the like is WATER...IMO, any canned food that has water added to it is just as likely over time to help. If it were my cat, I would probably switch to the prescribed food for all of two weeks before I'd make the decision to switch. If you're really leaning towards raw, whether homemade or commercial, I can tell you from experience that the raw portion of the forum is SUPER helpful.

 

[lalagimp]

Hold up on the chicken broth. read the container exactly. They often will have garlic or onion, or simply (and vaguely) say "spices". You may be better off taking a piece of chicken just to cover with water in a saucepan and simmering it for an hour or longer. I use Honest Kitchen bone broth when I'm adding supplemental fluids to Tom's food, other than water. Even though I hate prescription food ingredients, even Dr Pierson says they do have their usefulness and usual can be taken for at least 2 weeks and then move forward. We spoke last week, and even though I've been following her homemade recipe exactly, we're going to make some changes for Tom's bladder. He had the surgery and has his new urethra, but that's not a cure, only relief so that the debris can come out with the urine without getting blocked. We still treat his bladder issues because who wants to walk around with an uncomfortable bladder? He's had complications from both struvites and cystitis so we're lowering the mineral content and making the next batch of raw with 50/50 bone-in and bone-less meats instead of 2:1. Less minerals give less building blocks for struvites to gather together and cause bad times. For cystitis you can try to soothe the bladder walls with a glucosamine or substitute . She recommended Trixsyn - Canine Hyaluronic Acid Joint Supplement
www.catinfo.org

 

[mokapi]

I should have been more specific about the chicken broth...I always use a "natural"/possibly organic (I've bought it so many times I don't even read the box anymore) brand that I buy from a natural food store, free of added garlic/onion/etc., but they may not be available to you. My apologies